Will Blogging Make You Sick?
The New York Times, in a highly controversial article, said on Sunday that high-stress blogging is costing bloggers their health, even their lives. The article was written after two bloggers died over the past few months. Russell Shaw, 60, died of a heart attack. Marc Orchant, 50, died of a massive coronary. A third blogger (Om Malik, 41) survived a heart attack in December.
The article describes bloggers as “toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment” and states that “bloggers complain of weight loss or gain, sleep disorders, exhaustion and other maladies born of the nonstop strain of producing for a news and information cycle that is as always-on as the Internet.”
Darren Rowse of Problogger chose a positive title for his post about the article: On Being a Healthy Blogger. He points out, that people in all occupations can get stressed and suffer from ill health, but does admit that blogging has addictive properties and bloggers can pretty much spend day after day at home, in front of their computer, not venturing out much, eating junk food at their desk and not getting any exercise.
No doubt, there is a constant pressure on bloggers, and especially top bloggers, to keep producing quality content. Leo of Zen Habits recently asked his readers to be understanding as he lightens his posting schedule in an attempt to meet a book deadline. He said, “that means that you won’t see as many in-depth posts from me. However, don’t unsubscribe or go anywhere!“.
Amy of Crunchy Domestic Goddess (whose recent post, Filler, inspired this post) says, “I realize I haven’t had much in the way of substance on my blog so far this week, but I’ve been enjoying the warmer temps and trying to live more in the moment with my kids. I’m still working on finding that perfect balance between being mommy, working, and blogging. I haven’t figured it out yet.”
A sobering example of blogging exhaustion is that of RockstarMommy, who had a high-quality blog with a large audience and decided, out of the blue, to shut it down, explaining that “a once light-hearted hobby has turned into a chore that sucks up every last ounce of my free (and sometimes not-so-free) time, leaving my family competing with the internet for my attention and me not living REAL life and all the things I’ve always said I wanted to do with it. Some people are able to find the real life/internet balance. I’ve tried many times and have failed each and every one of them. My family is waiting for me and I’m not going to waste away our lives on this machine anymore.”
Problogger recently asked readers about their blogging mistakes. To me, the reader comment that stood out the most was that of Carolyn, who said, “the biggest mistake I’ve made cost me lots of traffic and the highest ranking on Google in my niche. I didn’t pre-post content in advance just in case something came up where I couldn’t. I came down with the flu in the middle of February this year, and I didn’t post on my blog for 10 days because I was bed ridden. I can’t believe how my traffic fell off so rapidly. What a painful lesson it has been”.
When I read Carolyn’s comment I thought, you may be a blogger, BUT YOU ARE A PERSON, not a robot. You are entitled to have a life - which sometimes includes vacations, and illnesses, even REST - outside of blogging. And if your blog has a smaller readership because you have a life outside of it, then that is just fine.
I too struggle with balancing blogging with “real life”. Blogging is fun and rewarding, and most definitely addictive. But my real life - my family, my job, socializing and exercising, even my household - must come first.
Mr. Shaw’s last email to his editor, before he passed away, said: “Have come down with something. Resting now. Posts to resume later today or tomorrow.”
Photo by DBarefoot
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Chris responds:
Posted: April 9th, 2008 at 8:26 am →
With everything else balance is key…I was gone for two weeks because of a family emergency and my traffic fell hard. I guess you are allowed to spend a lot of time with your blogging if it is your livelihood like John Chow or Leo, but if it is a hobby then treat it as such. Don’t let it run your life.
ironman responds:
Posted: April 9th, 2008 at 9:19 am →
Wow. Are you sure you want to do this blogging thing?
Of course it’s completely unproven that the deaths had anything to do with blogging. Plus there are tons of other high-stress jobs. I think that working from home is neat. And I agree with Chris: it’s all about finding a balance.
Computer Addict responds:
Posted: April 9th, 2008 at 10:47 am →
Chris is absolutely right. It’s a hobby - don’t let it take over your life. As with everything else in life - balance & moderation is the key.
Alik Levin | Practice This responds:
Posted: April 9th, 2008 at 12:37 pm →
Ichak Adizes to the resue:
http://www.adizes.com/blog/adizes_blog.php?/archives/12-unknown.html
How to solve a chronic problem
During dinner with a friend of mine, the Israeli professor Michael Perry, I was complaining about how difficult it is for me to manage. I love to write and lecture and consult – but not to operationally manage an organization. I told him that I feel like I’m trapped in a prison of my own creation. How strange this is, I mused, because I have dedicated my professional life to free others from the same prison I am in, yet I cannot help myself. He smiled and quoted a book of Jewish wisdom, Pirkey Avot: “Ein Ha asir metir atzmo me asurav,” which is translated as, “No prisoner frees himself of his chains.”
I will refrain from pasting the entire article but please follow the link and read about three-feet-long spoon …
MomGrind responds:
Posted: April 9th, 2008 at 1:22 pm →
@Chris - I agree - if it’s a hobby, it should be a hobby and not something that takes over your life, which is what happened to rockstarmommy.
@ironman - true, they could have died at the same ages even if they weren’t bloggers. No one knows for sure. And, I promised myself I would stick with blogging for one year and see what happens and then decide if I want to continue, so 11 more months to go.
@Computer Addict - finding that balance is not easy, b/c the internet in general and blogging in particular are addictive. But looks like we are all trying.
@ Alik - it’s an interesting concept - you can help others but not necessarily yourself.
Jill responds:
Posted: April 9th, 2008 at 5:58 pm →
Great. Now I am just worried.
Shilpan | successsoul.com responds:
Posted: April 9th, 2008 at 6:38 pm →
Vered,
Great writing. After reading this, I realize the importance of balance between growth of the blog and family. I guess, if we blog for the fun and not so much for the financial reason, we can balance both family and our passion of blogging. However, I understand that for most people, it is hard to spend so much of time and not expect to be rewarded financially. So, it is a double edge sword. May be that if we put our mind behind this life puzzle, we will find an amicable answer.
Shilpan
MomGrind responds:
Posted: April 9th, 2008 at 8:13 pm →
@ Jill: oh, shut up.
@ Shilpan: I agree that even when you blog as a hobby, it takes quite a lot of your time. Frankly, it takes a lot more than I had expected.
Ann responds:
Posted: April 10th, 2008 at 5:08 pm →
I’m a brand-new blogger and that article freaked me out a little, because I can easily imagine “going down the rabbit hole” of the blogging life. I feel like I already have an internet problem; it’s the perfect place for someone like me (who has ADD-like tendencies) to get lost. In fact, I should be making dinner right now!!
MomGrind responds:
Posted: April 10th, 2008 at 6:16 pm →
@ Ann: the internet in general, and blogging in particular, have addictive properties. It is absolutely essential to keep your priorities straight. Now go make dinner.
Crunchy Domestic Goddess responds:
Posted: April 11th, 2008 at 11:38 am →
i enjoyed your take on the matter, but it’s kind of scary, isn’t it? i’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. i plan to write about it in more detail probably next week.
thanks for the shout out/linky love.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: April 12th, 2008 at 6:24 pm →
@ Amy: looking forward to reading your opinion on this.
Personally, I have decided to only publish 5 days a week instead of 7 days. It takes a lot of the pressure off and will enable me to have fun, stress-free weekends with family and friends.
Are Bloggers Allowed To Have A Life? - MomGrind responds:
Posted: June 25th, 2008 at 4:04 am →
[…] bloggers who put in 70 hours per week, work so hard that they forget to drink, and sometimes even drop dead, I promised myself that “real life” would always come […]